I'm writing this on my descent into new York city.I still feel a bit dizzy from time spent at Ringling College of Art and Design; I've always been this way. When I go a place for a few days, and then leave, I feel as though I'm exiting through a cloud because I try to immerse myself within that space that I'm in. That's why it's difficult for me to work in-between the events on my travel itinerary. I feel as though that work pulls me out of the present, and staying in the present is something that I'm striving to do moreso in my life, but especially when I travel. It's a gift that I try to give myself, but as with anything I sometimes I have to compromise and address other commitments unrelated to the present. It's the responsibility of a freelancer; and so flexibility becomes a virtue.
I'm ruminating over the lectures that I gave and listened to while at Ringling over the past three days and part of me feels a bit saddened that it ended so soon. As with any intense experience it's as though they press into me leaving a mark at my core. I'm remembering conversations that I've had with so many of the students, conversations that challenged my perspective of illustration, but also those which I co-opted with my own philosophy (of it) in order expand my view of this discipline. As I mentioned in my presentation, I'm a perpetual student, who loves to learn new things, so that I can move towards becoming that Illustrator who I want to be, not the one who I thought that I should be. Thank you not only my fellow speakers, SooJin and Chris Buzelli, for leaving their marks-- their words -- on my brain but to the students at Ringling who have inspired me as well.
